


Beginning After The End

by pp_bandit



Category: Owlboy (Video Game)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-11
Updated: 2019-02-09
Packaged: 2019-09-16 00:52:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,098
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16943913
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pp_bandit/pseuds/pp_bandit
Summary: The world is coming back together after years of separation. Everyone, both natural and robotic, has to adjust to the new life of living on the ground. But some changes bring unintended consequences, and unexpected visitors.





	1. Laws Apply At The Worst Times

**Author's Note:**

> Kind of dark first chapter, also its really short. 
> 
>  
> 
> All feedback is accepted

Otus felt distant. Everything ached, worse than he could ever imagine. But it also felt fake, like he was dreaming. Otus felt like he was floating, like a feather in the wind. It was the same sensation he felt in the dream world, right after he fell from… 

Otus’s eyes flew open at the realization of what was going on. He was falling, the wind whipped around him in a storm of anger. All around him what once was his world was crashing down into the endless waters of the ocean. His mind immediately raced with thoughts, some good, most bad. Otus recalled the previous events that led to his current predicament. Solus, Molstrom, The Relics. His concerns were swiftly interrupted by those of his own. Mainly how to not die.  
Like Asio had taught him, Otus threw open his Cloak to slow down and gain control. But to his dismay, nothing happened. He craned his head back to an ungodly sight, the Cloak was not there. Any other concerns paled in comparison to this one. Otus began to tear up, his stomach began to churn like a blender. He was hopeless. No cloak, no one to save him. Another thought infiltrated his head, one that made him want to scream until he passed out. One that only Death would punish him with. Otus, an owl capable of flight, would be killed by falling to his death. How painfully ironic.

He turned himself back around to face the ocean, the action sent needles into his already frail body. The wind ripped at his wounds like invisible knives. He could see the sparkling blue waves reach up and sank back into the sea. Islands had begun to form as the Floating Continent fell back into place. At Least Otus could enjoy a nice view before he died.  
He receded back into his mind again, Otus thought about everyone he cared about. It put a smile on his face to think that he had saved the world. That because of his sacrifice, the rest of the world would be able to continue. Too bad he wouldn’t be around to see it. As the water drew nearer, Otus closed his eyes. Despite all the scratches and burns from the Anti Hex, Otus felt nothing.  
Otus took a deep breath in, his body relaxed and his breathing softened. He had accepted his death at this point, he felt at peace amidst the chaos surrounding him. Even though no one would ever see it, Otus mouthed one final phrase to his friends.

“Thank You.” 

Then, everything went dark as Otus was thrown into unconsciousness by the impact.


	2. Spared

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lot more lighter hearted chapter, still really short though. I'll keep on working to make sure the chapters get longer. I think i'll go for a few thousand words a chapter once I get into it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Would have come out sooner but I decided to change the whole story and add in this part so that I wouldn't have to backtrack later.

His eyes fluttered open, his lungs flooded with the air they desperately needed. Whilst he could see, his vision was severely blurred and partially blinded by the patch of light floating in front of him. His head was throbbing and his ears ringing.  
His iris’s slowly condensed and his vision materialized to reveal the ball of light gently bobbing and swaying like a leaf in the wind. It drew closer, the light causing him to jerk his head away from it. His eyes widened at the sight they saw. All around him, the Floating Continent was falling into the vast ocean, but he wasn’t. It was like he was stuck in time, only a few feet of air separating him from what would have been his watery grave.  
Another object caught his attention, a floating island was falling right above him. He covered his face, preparing to be smashed into the water by the pile of sediment, but to his dismay, the island went straight through him.  
The island along with his daze warring off triggered his memories to flood back to him. 

His name was Otus, he was floating in time, with a ball of light most likely being the reason for it. Said ball slowly began to dissipate, the light it emitted faded, leaving Otus alone to ponder on what the hell was going on. Otus’s questions would have to wait, as the time bubble he resided in popped and dropped him onto the ground.  
Otus staggered up after a minute, despite the wind being knocked out of him and the protests from his aching body. He attempted to lean on a tree next to him to ease the weight on his legs, but yelped and fell back when a burn on his palm made contact with the bark. His eyes began to tear up, the fall sent red hot knives into his spine, causing him to jerk in pain.  
Otus was exhausted, the simple act of standing up had become a daunting idea, let alone actually sitting up. Otus couldn’t move anything, the fear of pain froze him in place, the only visible movement being from his chest as he desperately tried to ease the hyperventilation that was setting in. Otus felt his eyes begin to shut, his lack of energy made the world feel so distant, like a wisp in the night. Otus edged on the border of awareness and sleep until a blur in the sky caught his attention and snapped him out of his daze.  
The blur dashed across the sky, then froze when it looked in his direction. The blur darted to him faster than a bullet, by the time Otus processed what had happened it had already landed next to him. The figure turned Otus on his back, revealing the sorrow-filled face of his mentor. Asio. 

Asio quickly scooped up Otus into his arms and began to take off. Whatever Asio was saying through his sobbing was unprocessable to Otus. The comfort of Asio and the exhaustion worked together to lull Otus to sleep. His eyes completely shut as he embraced a well deserved rest. A smile forming on his face as he thought to himself; “everything is going to be okay.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed reading!
> 
> All feedback is accepted


	3. Adjustments

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally got around to finishing the next chapter. Longer than previous ones but still too short for my liking. I'll make sure the next one is longer than this.

The trance of sleep finally wore off, and with it let the previously dammed up pain flood into Otus’s body. It wasn’t as strong as before, but it still had enough force to figuratively punch Otus in the gut. Despite the aching feeling left after his fall clawing at him, Otus mustered enough will to open his eyes. He was lying on his back, looking at the monotone ceiling of his house, though it was much farther away than what he was used to. “Perhaps I'm on the floor.” Otus thought to himself. 

Otus lifted his hand up in an attempt to brush off the numbness that had ensued during his rest. The metal gauntlets that he usually wore still adorned him, albeit more scratched up now. Otus repeated the process with his other hand, then wiggled his toes to hopefully wake them up too. After a while, Otus finally felt the numbness leave him, and the pain of moving a sleeping limb join him. Luckily the pins and needles sensation subsided relatively quickly, allowing Otus full mobility to look around at his home. Books and other miscellaneous items laid about the floor around him. Otus gasped when he saw his Owl Cloak, or at least what was left of it. It had become less of a cloak and more of a tiny poncho now. The poor thing probably couldn’t even reach beyond Otus’s shoulders. The sight of his ruined cloak brought the odd memories associated with it. “What was that glowing ball?” Otus thought to himself. 

Otus pushed his speculations off to the side, knowing well that his questions may never be answered. The only thing that mattered now was that he was alive, in his house, and had saved the world. He decided that his next order of business would be to get up and moving around. 

Unfortunately getting up was harder than it seemed. Otus tried over and over to get himself sat up, but to no avail. After trying for what felt like hours, Otus finally gave up and slumped back down onto his bed, letting out a sigh as he fell. Instantly his mind began to race with thoughts again. His brain forced itself into overdrive, trying to piece together what had happened with what little information Otus had. Otus finally decided to just ask Solus when he got the chance. 

Otus’s attention was drawn to the sound of someone opening the door. It was Asio. He was carrying what appeared to be food. The sight of it made Otus’s stomach rumble and his mouth water. He hadn’t even realized how hungry he was until now. The shifting of Otus in his bed was more than enough to cue Asio that his student was awake. Asio quickly dropped the supplies off on a table to greet him. Just the sight of seeing Otus alive and well was enough to put a smile on his face.   
Otus peered over at Asio and was met with the warmest smile he had seen on the old man in who knows how long. It didn’t take long for tears to form in his eyes as well. Otus was truly surprised at how much his mentor had changed following the most recent events. Someone so cold and unforgiving as Asio had made a complete turnaround in their personality.   
Otus let out a meek chirp at the sensation of contact. While Otus was deep in thought Asio had come in for a hug. Otus quickly returned the favor and hugged Asio back. Making sure to cherish every moment of it. Asio hadn’t done something this kind for Otus in years. The two of them just sat there, the only sounds in the room were the occasional sniffle from Asio.   
After a while, Asio finally pulled back. Allowing Otus a clear view the wet stains on his face where he had shed tears. Asio was unsure of what to say. There were so many things he wanted to say right now. One side of him wanted to just sit there and bawl his eyes out at what he had done, but the other side wanted him to just move on. He was truly unsure of what he should do. After a brief debate in his head, Asio decided it would be best to just move on. 

He walked over to the table he had sat the food on and picked up a nice, ripe fruit. He then handed it over to otus, who quickly devoured it. The boy practically consumed it whole. Asio watched as Otus’s eyes slowly shut, the only indication of life in his body was his crest slowly rising and falling. The sight of him sleeping made Asio realize he himself was pretty tired. Asio picked up a chair that had fallen over and sat down. Immediately he felt the sweet feeling of relaxation roll over him like a wave of comfort. All his thoughts and worries faded away as the mentor finally got some well -needed sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It was actually kind of fun to write this chapter. I really wanted to have a "split mind" for Asio. As in one side of him cares for everyone and one side still holds on to the feelings of his past. I'll try to adventure into that idea later.
> 
> All feedback is accepted!


	4. New Neighbors

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> yeah its been a while. this is the chapter where the cheesy superpower stuff starts. btw thanks for being patient with my update schedule

So much had happened in the last few weeks that Otus was pretty sure the next new thing would make his brain explode. Twig, Geddy, Alphonse, Solus, and basically everyone else had come over to say hello, and in Geddy’s case hug Otus with the strength of the Relics. 

 

After a brief conversation with Solus on what had happened and where the Relics were, in which neither questions were answered, Otus finally was permitted to leave his house. Albeit Asio was quite reluctant to agree, but Otus had the strength to walk around and had proven himself to be a challenge to keep indoors. But it wasn’t his fault, Otuss’ curiosity had gotten the best of him, and blocked any other thought to enter his mind.

 

The first thing Otus noticed about the new world was how different it truly was from the stories he was told as a child. While in his house, he had imagined it would be a sprawling landscape dotted with trees and matted with beautiful flowers. But contrary to his mental image, he was enclosed in a prison of dirt and trees. Otuss’ house wasn’t in a very scenic location, it was in a valley, surrounded in trees. Likely in the middle of nowhere if he had to guess. 

 

The walk to Velie proved to a daunting task without an owl cape. The valley consisted of steep inclines and rocks jutting out of the dirt. After a while, Otus finally found an achievable route up the hill and continued on to Velie. As he was walking he couldn't help but admire the undergrowth, as scattered as they were. All of the plants around Otus presented him with dumbfounding beauty, but one truly took the crown. 

 

It was a small, golden vine that had wrapped itself around a very ancient looking oak tree. It had long barbs protruding out of the stem and on the tip of each barb. A blue and white flower. The vibrant colors just seemed to drag Otus closer to it. He had never seen such a beautiful flower in his life. Otus stopped thinking about everything else, all that mattered was the flower. He got closer and closer. Until finally, it was almost within reach.

 

Otus hastily reached out to grab the flower. But soon found that right before he could grab hold of it, it disappeared. Like a wisp in the wind the vine, flower and all, disappeared from reality. Before Otus could react, the tree did the same, then the sky, then everything else. It was pitch black now, Otus couldn't even see his own hands right in front of his eyes. he was shocked, dumbfounded by what was going on. 

 

He snapped out of his trance at the sensation of something stinging him in his hand. Then, Otus felt the blood begin to drip off his hand and onto his tunic. The warm feeling of blood making him shiver. 

 

His hand hurt, but was nothing compared to what was to come. Otus felt something sharp, something VERY sharp, drive itself into the recently opened wound. The thing sent Otus flying into the ground, it felt like hell itself was entering his body. His screams and cries for mercy became distant as the torment slowly consumed him. His mind had gone completely blank, any and all of Otus's thoughts had been killed off long ago by whatever was doing this to him. After what seemed like an eternity, the pain stopped. Otus's body felt weak, too weak to even move. He could feel the blood flowing out of his hand, and pretty soon it had pooled up under his body. Otus was just about to finally pass out when his eyes were thrown open by a blinding light. 

 

He saw the same ball of light that had saved him before begin to float around him. It's soft glow illuminated the otherwise blank world and comforted Otus. He watched, mesmerized by the ball as it inched closer to him. It's light allowed Otus to finally see his wound up close. His hand was covered in blood and his clothes were stained dark red. As Otus carefully inspected himself, the orb came even closer, by now it was only a few feet away. He looked up and saw that now the orb had taken the shape of a pair of white wings. Before he could react, the wings had found their way into the wound on his hand. Otus braced himself for the worst, but instead of pain, Otus felt something quite different. His hand began to itch, he looked down and what he saw made him gasp. The skin around his wound was healing itself. 

 

Otus watched in awe as his skin covered up the pinprick on his palm. Pretty soon is hand was back to normal, like nothing had even happened. While all this was going on, Otus failed to notice the energy emanating from his hands and back. The energy in his hands was black, blacker than the night sky on a new moon. And the energy on his back. Was as white as an angel. Suddenly, both energies shifted tones into a light gray. This happened to catch Otus's attention. Otus somehow felt like whatever he was seeing on his hands had always been there. Like he had seen an lived with whatever this was for his whole life. The aura coming from them began to shift once again, this time into something Otus would have never seen coming. He felt something begin to grow on his back. Otus reached around and felt something unusual. It felt like what his back normally felt like, but the feathers had been rearranged and stuck out a lot more than before. It didn't take Otus long to realize what was on his back.

A pair of wings.

 

Just as the realization set in, another spectacle began. The aura in his hands began to flow into a dot on his palm. Then, it erupted outward. The gray energy twisted and turned until it had formed itself into what could only be described as amazing.

 

A sword made of pure energy.

 

The sword was decorated with baroque style lines and unknown symbols. It's handle fit his hand perfectly, like it had been made specifically for Otus. It felt lighter than a feather, but stronger than steel. Otus wasn't sure what the hell was going on. But he knew it was something special. 

 

Before he knew it, things began to reappear in front of Otus's eyes. In less than a minute, Otus was exactly where he was before. Albeit lying on the ground now. To his surprise, Otus actually felt stronger, much stronger. He looked around, wondering how long he had been out. His gaze slowly fixed itself on the flower he had gone to pick earlier, or at least, where the flower was. Not a trace could be found of it anywhere. "Was Otus just imagining things?" 

Otus looked up to the sound of a deep horn. And saw as the sun was blocked out by something he would have never expected. A dreadnaught. No. Multiple dreadnaughts. The same behemoth that had become the flagship of the almighty Molstrom had used in tandem with the Relics to destroy Advent. Except it had been duplicated at least 10 times. Whoever was piloting those monsters obviously had a reason for such firepower, and if they wanted to. Could easily destroy everything in their path. Otus forgot everything that had just happened as he began to run in the direction the fleet was heading. 

Velie was about to be in big trouble.

**Author's Note:**

> Like I said, VERY short. Chapters will not come out in a regular order because I'm busy, but ill try to make new ones as soon as their ready and revised to my liking.


End file.
